Lee Chang-dong

A portrait of the South Korean screenwriter, director and producer Lee Chang-Dong through his work, this documentary provides a thematic analysis of his films, most of which have been selected for and received awards at the Cannes Film Festival.

KIM Dong-ho is the founder of the Busan International Film Festival and one of the key figures in the rise of Korean cinema. Starting his career as a civil servant, he dedicated his whole life to the sheer passion for films. With his deep commitment and instinctive creativity, he will keep “walking in the movies.”

South Korean cinema is in the throes of a creative explosion where mavericks are encouraged and masters are venerated. But from where has this phenomenon emerged? What is the culture that has yielded this range of filmmakers? With The Nine Lives of Korean Cinema, French critic, writer and documentarian Hubert Niogret provides a broad overview but, nevertheless, an excellent entry point into this unique type of national cinema that still remains a mystery for many people. The product of a troubled social and political history, Korean cinema sports an identity that is unique in much modern film. Niogret's documentary tells of the country's cinematic history - the ups along with the downs - and gives further voice to the artists striving to express their concerns, fears and aspirations.

Director Chung Ji-Young criticizes the thought that older directors have difficulties in making certain movies. Actress Yoon Jin-Seo agonizes over her identity as an actress. In 2009, before the movie "Unbowed" was made, they met and planned a documentary about Korean movies, including the processes a Korean movie goes through and difficulites. "Ari Ari the Korean Cinema" is a documentary with interviews of Korean directors, actors and actresses.

Discover the roots of Korean cinema. A cinema who surprised by the success recorded in the major international festivals. Interviews to five famous Korean directors, to get to know closely the evolution of Korean cinema. Through their words, their pictures and their stories. The Korean cinema has tendency to describe both the society, the past and the modern. The world of west cinema knows these directors through the journey of some of their movies. What do we know about their thoughts, their life, their culture and their way of working? The documentary focus on it.

Prominent film critic Tony Rayns has long been a supporter of Korean cinema. This film illustrates Rayns’ affection for Korean cinema through interviews of Korean cineastes that have a special affinity for him, including JANG Sun-woo, LEE Chang-dong and HONG Sang-soo among others.

The first feature documentary directed by Kim Dong-ho, former festival director of the Busan International Film Festival, this film captures the present landscape of theaters and films across Asia through the eyes of a seasoned film professional. Now retired from public service, Kim travels with his camera to document the post-pandemic cinematic ecosystem, visiting theaters and film festivals in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and beyond, and gathering memories and concerns from filmmakers along the way. Prominent figures like Lee Chang-dong, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Tsai Ming-Liang, and Garin Nugroho eagerly share their thoughts on the fate of theaters and the future of cinema. What begins as a survey of the current state of theaters evolves into an emotional chronicle and an opportunity to reflect on the essence and sustainability of cinema.

Shin-ae moves to her recently late husband’s hometown. Despite her efforts to settle in this unfamiliar and too-normal place, she finds that she can’t fit in. After a sudden tragedy, Shin-ae turns to Christianity to relieve her pain, but when even this is not permitted, she wages a war against God.

After being kidnapped as a small child and raised by the five men who abducted him, a teenage boy is now forced to join their life in crime.

A young man released from prison visits the widow of the man he killed drunk-driving and becomes infatuated with his cerebral palsy-stricken daughter.

In the spring of 1999, a group of old friends gather to celebrate their 20 year reunion. Among the group is Yeong-ho, a cold, unhappy man, whose demeanor puts a damper on the festivities. The seriousness of Yeong-ho's depression becomes apparent when he climbs a railroad bridge and looks like he might jump. At this crucial moment, memories of seven crucial episodes from Yeong-ho's past flood his mind.

In the spring of 1999, a group of old friends gather to celebrate their 20 year reunion. Among the group is Yeong-ho, a cold, unhappy man, whose demeanor puts a damper on the festivities. The seriousness of Yeong-ho's depression becomes apparent when he climbs a railroad bridge and looks like he might jump. At this crucial moment, memories of seven crucial episodes from Yeong-ho's past flood his mind.

Caught up in anxiety, eight-year-old Chul in school tells his teacher that he is going to the bathroom but runs straight home.

Caught up in anxiety, eight-year-old Chul in school tells his teacher that he is going to the bathroom but runs straight home.

A South Korean woman in her sixties enrolls in a poetry class as she grapples with her faltering memory and her grandson's appalling wrongdoing.

A South Korean woman in her sixties enrolls in a poetry class as she grapples with her faltering memory and her grandson's appalling wrongdoing.

Returning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.

Promising fund manager Jae-hoon is at the brink of losing everything when his company goes bankrupt. Overwhelmed by despair, he takes an impulsive trip to Australia where his wife and son live. As his trip nears its unexpected end, Jae-hoon gets a chance to look back on his life.

Sent from Seoul to serve in a remote coastal village, a policewoman gets involved in the life of a mysterious teenage girl who is abused by both her father and her grandmother.

A young man released from prison visits the widow of the man he killed drunk-driving and becomes infatuated with his cerebral palsy-stricken daughter.

Two men have returned to their hometown (the titular island) from Seoul to bury the father of one of them, but the islanders vehemently refuse their request, triggering memories of their childhood before and during the Korean War.

Shin-ae moves to her recently late husband’s hometown. Despite her efforts to settle in this unfamiliar and too-normal place, she finds that she can’t fit in. After a sudden tragedy, Shin-ae turns to Christianity to relieve her pain, but when even this is not permitted, she wages a war against God.

Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.

Activist and law school graduate Kim is being persecuted by the mid-’70s Park regime for trying to write a book about Jeon Tae-il, a union activist who immolated himself at age 22 to protest government hypocrisy.

Returning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.

Young Jin-hee is taken by her father to an orphanage near Seoul. He leaves her there never to return, and she struggles to come to grips with her fate. Jin-hee desperately believes her father will come back for her and take her on a trip.

Young Jin-hee is taken by her father to an orphanage near Seoul. He leaves her there never to return, and she struggles to come to grips with her fate. Jin-hee desperately believes her father will come back for her and take her on a trip.

A bullied girl becomes friends with a new kid during a break, but when classes start up again, their new friendship is nearly ruined when the bullying continues.

When an American woman begins a dangerous relationship with an attractive immigrant worker, in order to save her marriage, she finds her true self.

Two men have returned to their hometown (the titular island) from Seoul to bury the father of one of them, but the islanders vehemently refuse their request, triggering memories of their childhood before and during the Korean War.

Returning from eight years abroad at work and in prison, Jeong-il struggles to reconnect with his wife and their young daughter, Ye-sol, whom he barely knows.

Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.

Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.

Shin-ae moves to her recently late husband’s hometown. Despite her efforts to settle in this unfamiliar and too-normal place, she finds that she can’t fit in. After a sudden tragedy, Shin-ae turns to Christianity to relieve her pain, but when even this is not permitted, she wages a war against God.

Following the intertwined lives of two married couples leading completely opposite lives. As their worlds collide, fractures begin to appear in their daily existence.

Following the intertwined lives of two married couples leading completely opposite lives. As their worlds collide, fractures begin to appear in their daily existence.